


"Dear Sakura…"

by abucketfulloffeels



Category: HKT48
Genre: High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 13:38:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4748390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abucketfulloffeels/pseuds/abucketfulloffeels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story based on the PV of Mukashi no kareshi no oniichan to tsukiau to iu koto by HKT48 Team KIV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Dear Sakura…"

_The cold wind cut through the school courtyard, whistling as it blew out of the school gates. Sakura petals from the tree that had bloomed earlier than the rest fluttered gracefully, carried by the wind._

_In front of the school gate stood Miyawaki Sakura as she faced 15 other girls, who had suddenly gathered in front of her just as she was about to leave. The awkward silence between them was filled by the faint howling of the wind, which tousled Sakura’s hair and skirt, while light pink coloured sakura petals swirled around her._

_It was then when Sakura noticed that Tomonaga Mio, who was standing right in front, shed a tear._

_“Sorry,” Sakura muttered before turning around and leaving the school soundlessly._

_As she walked further and further away from the school gates, she suddenly heard a faint cry, “Stop!”_

_Tears welled up in her eyes, and she quickened her pace, never turning back._

~~~

 

Dear Sakura,

 How are you? We haven’t been in contact since the day you left. I hope you are doing fine though. The whole class misses you.

 Time flies, doesn’t it? It just seemed like last week when the class met each other for the first time. As you know, our class did not exactly start off on a happy note - we knew that we were the worst class of our batch - the class consisting of students who barely made it through the promotional exams the year before.

 After a week or so of grim reminders and lecturing by our teachers about “being the weakest of our batch” and that we need to “pull our socks up or we will never graduate from high school”, we were feeling quite demoralised and dejected, and full of resentment that we ended up in such a class. However, Sakura, you were the one who got up and cheerfully told us not to give up and be affected by the teachers’ negative comments. I will never forget the last thing you said: “We will definitely graduate together as a class, every single one of us!”

 Of course, when you said all that, no one seemed to be convinced - everyone had a look of bewilderment and scepticism on their face, me included. But from that day onwards, I could sense that the whole class started to be more motivated, and everyone became more comfortable with each other. I am pretty sure it was all thanks to you Sakura, for you were always consciously trying to bond with everyone in the class, be it cleaning up the classroom, playing games or studying.

 After some time, I realised that you were not exactly that bad in your studies like all of us - in fact, you were smart enough to get into the top class. This made me wonder why you ended up in this class. What did you do in your promotionals that made you do so badly? Did you deliberately want to end up in the weakest class? However, I never got the chance to ask you about this, and I figured that you wouldn’t like it if I were to ask you about it as well.

 Gradually, our friendship started to grow. I always enjoyed eating our bento on the school rooftop, sometimes with Aichan, while talking about whatever was on our minds. You told me about the boy from the all-boys high school across the road which you had a crush on, while I told you about whatever new dramas I started watching. You mentioned that you always wanted to go to a top university in Tokyo, while I said that I would be overjoyed if I could just make it into any university here.

 A few months ago, I heard some girls who apparently used to be in your class spreading rumours about you, saying something along the lines of you having family problems, and that the reason you failed 3 subjects in your promotionals was because of these issues. I tried to ignore those rumours, of course, but I confess that I did question the validity of what they said.

 And then, the day you suddenly left school came. No one in class knew that you were leaving, me included - it took us completely by surprise. In fact, we wouldn’t even have known that you left if not for Aichan and me spotting your from the rooftop while we were playing badminton during the break. As soon as I saw you receive a bag from our homeroom  _sensei_  by the school gate, I did not know what hit me, but my brain instinctively told me to run down before it was too late. Aichan noticed the signal too, and we both ran down the rooftop, past the classrooms and across the lobby, where some of our classmates were cleaning the floor. As we did so, Aichan called all our classmates to come down, while I just ran as hard as I could, a sense of despair filling my heart.

 I reached the front of the school gates earlier than the rest, and just caught the last parts of the conversation between you and  _sensei_. “Farewell, take care,” he said. When I heard that, I immediately stopped in my tracks. You…Sakura…leaving school…before all of us? But you were the one who said that the whole class was going to graduate together!

 Just as  _sensei_  left, the whole class arrived. Up till today, I can still vividly remember what followed. After everyone caught their breath, Aichan apprehensively asked, “Sakura…are you leaving…for good?” At that moment, I couldn’t hold back my emotions and started to cry. There was a moment of silence as we waited for your answer. Then, you smiled - the saddest, most painful smile I have ever seen - and muttered, “Sorry.” As you quietly left, tears could not stop flowing down my cheeks, and for some reason I shouted “stop”, but you just walked away even faster. The whole class stood there for a good 5 minutes, some people crying, others with solemn expressions, before they dispersed and went back. I stood there, with Aichan accompanying me for the next 10 minutes, shedding tears of remorse and confusion.

 The next day, I found out the whole truth about your sudden departure from sensei. Last year, during the period before the promotional exams, your grandmother fell seriously ill, adding on to the financial strain your family was already facing. I figured that this affected your performance greatly, causing you to do badly and end up in this class. Your grandmother did get better in the end, but a month ago, she had a relapse, and your family was thrown into a difficult situation again. Then, your father lost his job, which made the whole problem worse. Sensei told us that you chose to pull out of school voluntarily to ease the financial strain, for school fees were expensive, and as the oldest child in your family, you felt that you had the responsibility to find a job to support your younger siblings.

 Hearing all that, I felt nothing but even more remorse. If I had cared a bit more, I could have found it out before it was too late and perhaps offer you some help. I know it wouldn’t be much, but it just pains me to see you sacrifice your dream just to support your family. I am really sorry that I was insensitive and selfish as a friend, always asking your for help and advice in school work and other matters, but never offering you any help. I really hope that you do not bear a grudge on me, and even if you do, I wouldn’t blame you. I really do miss you a lot, and I hope that after reading this letter, you will start to talk to me again. We don’t need to meet up if you’re not comfortable - you can always just send me a message when you feel like it.

 It’s almost midnight now, I’d better end this letter and go to sleep. I await your reply.

Love,

Mio


End file.
